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THI Insurance Zimbabwe is planning to expand its crop insurance business into East African market as it seeks to grow its book. Speaking at the insurance company’s 75th anniversary celebrations in Harare yesterday, non-executive director Mr David Birch said they were eyeing East Africa as it offers huge market because it is a major tobacco growing region.
“We are developing resources to enable us to go into that market to offer our 75-year experience to them. We will be going to Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda,” he said.
He also said that the East African venture will be a medium-term insurance project. Apart from the East African venture, the company is also seeking to consolidate its position on the local market through the introduction of short-term insurance product.
This follows the recent acquisition of a full scope short-term insurance licence from the Insurance and Pensions Commission.
We intend to grow this business through developing sustainable partnerships and relationships with select members of the broking fraternity with whom we wish to engage and develop professional but friendly relationships, he said.
Mr Birch added that they will, however, not venture into the other risky business that some insurance companies have dabbled in.
“We will not get into any business that we do not understand or where we do not have the necessary skills or resources.
“Nevertheless, we do have technical skills and technical partnerships that will assist us in offering a wide range of risk solutions for property, engineering, contract all risks, specialist liability, marine and, of course, crop and agricultural insurance where we wish to expand into insuring crops other than just tobacco,” he said.
The insurance company is also focusing on upstream and downstream elements of the Zimbabwe agricultural industry given the important role that agriculture plays in the economy.
Meanwhile, THI Insurance has had a fruitful 75 years of existence in which it has been moulded into a solid company since its humble beginning in 1938.
The insurance company started as a hail insurance fund initiated by a pioneering group of tobacco farmers, who wanted to spread risk among themselves.
Soon after its formation the company sought catastrophe reinsurance protection from Lloyds of London through its broker JH Minet. L, which was acquired by Aon Corporation Worldwide in 1997.
This led to a relationship between it, Minet and Aon which has survived for the past 74 years. The company also has a 50-year relationship with Munich Re which has been its risk transfer partner.
In 1981 the fund was converted into the Tobacco Hail Insurance (Pvt) Ltd and it continued to operate the hail insurance scheme along more or less co-operative lines.
It was incorporated into the Tetrad group in January 2009 after the realisation that there was need to broaden its operating base.
Online Reporter